The state of the UK coffee roasting movement
by Anthony Prince

The practice of roasting one's own coffee beans is a relatively recent phenomenon to hit the shores of the UK, and even then, it is an artform undertaken only by a small hardcore of gourmet coffee enthusiasts. There are several possible reasons for such a widely unheard of practice, one of which is that the UK is more traditionally associated with tea drinking than coffee drinking. As a nation of tea drinkers, we are all too happy to open a jar of instant or, at best, use some pre-ground filter coffee. With regards to tea, however, we seem to put more thought into the purchase, preparation and enjoyment of it, which sadly means the coffee side is somewhat neglected.

Furthermore, for the minority of coffee drinkers who genuinely do take their beverage of choice seriously enough to home roast, several factors play a part in limiting the appeal of home roasting. The lack of access to roasting equipment, suppliers of green beans, and mass awareness of the advantages of home roasting, for example, all ensure that it becomes a real effort in order to obtain satisfactory results.

Nevertheless, home roasters do exist in the UK, and although currently struggling to establish itself as an acceptable pastime, I am in no doubt that within a relatively small amount of time, home roasting will have found a niche alongside stamp collecting, wood turning and gardening.

Optimistic? Possibly, although there is good enough reason for such a bright outlook. One of the main reasons for this is that roasting your own coffee beans is not as daunting and as nerdy as it sounds. The only anoraks you will find here is when the home roaster puts his on to go out to the garage or shed to carry out his hobby. The other, perhaps more tempting reason is that it makes long term financial sense to buy large amounts of green beans and roast them yourself. You will save yourself money in the long run if you are a regular purchaser of pre-roast, which is more expensive, and takes all the fun out of coffee drinking.

At present, roasting equipment seems limited to only hot air machines. By hot air machines, I refer to devices that are capable of heating air to around 500F (or thereabouts) which causes the beans to roast. The fact that the beans are light, and are unable to remain in a static position, i.e. they a thrown around the container, ensures that the beans do not burn. There are really only two types of hot air roaster available in the UK at the moment. One is a specialist unit, called "The Precision Coffee Roaster", whose sole purpose is to roast coffee beans, this is manufactured by Hearthware. The drawback is, however, that the Precision Coffee Roaster is not widely available in high street stores. Select speciality coffee shops do stock them, and could potentially order them, but on the whole, it is not possible to walk into a department store and purchase one. They retail for about £130.

The second option is the common or garden popcorn maker. Although not intended to reach extreme temperatures like the Precision, the popcorn maker is able to produce satisfactory results, and a lot of roasters whom I have spoken to in the past use this tool to roast their beans. Typical price of a popcorn maker can vary a great deal. The trend seems to be the £15 - £40 price range.

An alternative to hot air roasting involves roasting by conduction. Examples of this include the stovetop skillet, in which the beans are placed and occasionally stirred to prevent scorching, roasting over an open fire, again in a pan of some sort, and also potentially in an oven. However, I am almost certain that my own domestic gas-powered stove is unable to reach the desired temperatures for roasting, and I doubt there are many that can. Roasting over a fire can be done, but this is a lengthy, messy and potentially dangerous business, so again, this is not really a viable option. Hobbies are not supposed to be straightforward, but neither are they intended to be so cumbersome that reaching the ultimate goal is not worth the effort. Bare this in mind, select the best method to suit your needs, and by all means experiment.

So, you have your shiny new coffee roaster or popcorn maker at hand. What are you going to put in it? It is safe to say that the availability of green (i.e. unroasted) beans is scarce at best. One option is to find a professional, bulk roaster within your locality and ask them if you can purchase small quantities (multiples of 250g) of unroasted beans from them. However, not all of us are lucky enough to live within reach of a roastmaster, so this is where mail order and e-commerce companies play a vital part in supplying the home roaster with beans. At present, there are very few such companies, but hopefully more will start to emerge as the nation jumps onto the bandwagon.

The actual variety of beans available is not that impressive either, considering exactly how many varieties there are in the world. Compare this with the roasting culture in the United States, where they are literally spoilt for choice, with virtually every bean under the sun readily available. Why should the UK be any different? Once again, with time this will no doubt change for the better.

The final element that is needed to begin home roasting is a smattering of knowledge. There is more to merely roasting the bean until it is brown. It is beneficial to understand the bean and what happens to it at each stage of roasting.

Basically, once the hot air begins to circulate, the beans will undergo a series of changes, the most obvious being a change in colour, from green to black (if you let it). But it is in your best interests to take time to find out the specifics. Generally, no two beans will behave in exactly the same way. Some will reach the "First Crack" in a shorter time than others for example, others will produce a lot of chaff while some hardly produce any. Taking time to do some background reading will greatly enhance your roasting experience. This need not be as extreme as going out and purchasing a book, reading it from cover to cover and methodically and scientifically following what you have just learned. A simple understanding of bean behaviour picked up from the Internet is sufficient to get started, although it seems wise that you at least learn what the terms "First Crack", "Second Crack", "Cupping" and "Degas" mean, along with the different levels of roast, such as "Cinnamon", "Full City", "French", etc.

So, to briefly summarise the main points of home roasting:

• Pre-roasted coffee beans will stale within a week or two. Green beans will keep for years.
  Pound for pound, green beans are cheaper to buy than pre-roasted. However, it is worth mentioning that green beans will lose some of their weight when they are roasted, so bare this in mind. Also, there is the initial setup cost of purchasing equipment to consider.

• Roasting coffee at home will produce a significant quantity of smoke. Perhaps the same amount of smoke as 5 cigarettes, but there is the added smell to be aware of, which some people may find uncomfortable. Roast in a well-ventilated kitchen, or in the garage or shed.

• The roasted beans, depending on the type, will produce a lot of chaff, which can be messy if collection is not catered for. Collect the chaff and throw it on plants, trees, etc as it will break down and add nutrients to the soil.

• Roasted beans give off lots of carbon dioxide (CO2). Bare this in mind when allowing beans to degas in a sealed environment, as a build up of pressure could occur. It is recommended that you degas for 48 hours in a sealed valve bag.

• The longer you roast a bean, the more it loses its caffeine content. However, the more you roast a bean, the more of its subtle flavours will be lost until eventually, you will taste the roast and not the bean. Darker roasts = more body, lighter roasts = more acidity.

Finally, although the UK is slow off the mark in terms of its coffee culture in general, with the right amount of support and custom from coffee lovers, the bean suppliers and equipment manufacturers will take note and pay more attention to the UK market, which, in a country obsessed with instant, can only be a good thing.

Copyright ©2000 Antony Prince, Manchester, UK.
Permission granted to Hill and Valley Coffee™ to modify and distribute content without my prior notification.